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North-South Expressway, Malaysia
The North–South Expressway (NSE) ( ; Jawi: ليبوهراي اوتارا-سلتن; ) is the longest controlled-access expressway in Malaysia with the total length of about running from Bukit Kayu Hitam in Kedah near the Malaysian-Thai border (connects with Phetkasem Road (Route 4) in Thailand) to Johor Bahru at the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia and to Singapore. The expressway links many major cities and towns in western Peninsular Malaysia, acting as the 'backbone' of the west coast of the peninsula. It is also known as PLUS Expressway, named after the highway's concessionaire, Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan Berhad (North South Expressway Project; abbreviated as PLUS). But today the company changed its name into Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Berhad (PLUS) (Expressway Project Joint Ventures Limited) which is a company subsidiary of PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PMB). This expressway passes through 7 states on the peninsula: Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Perak, Penang and Kedah. It provides a faster alternative to the old Federal Route 1, thus reducing travelling time between various towns & cities. The expressway is part of the Asian Highway Network of route AH2. Overview of the North-South Expressway The expressway begins at the Bukit Kayu Hitam highway in Kedah, where the remainder of the stretch belongs to the AH2, and goes into the Phetkasem Road in Thailand. Then it proceeds southwards concurrently along the old A1, which has not been upgraded and is still a limited-access road. Just to the north of the town of Jitra, route 1 continues southwards while the expressway bends southeast to bypass the said town, marking the end of the concurrency and the start of the controlled-access highway proper. Just to the east of the town is the Jitra Toll Plaza, where a one-time payment is made. After the toll plaza the expressway continues southwest, entering the district of Kota Setar and interchanging with route 1 near Kepala Batas. Shortly south is the Hutan Kampung Toll Plaza, where ticket tolling begins. The expressway runs east of the city of Alor Setar, where it makes two interchanges with the Sultanah Bahiyah Highway (route 255), both leading to aforementioned city. From this point the expressway enters Seberang Perai Tengah, running southwesterly along the east side of Butterworth, where it makes several important interchanges, including Jalan Permatang Pauh (route 3111) leading to Permatang Pauh, the Butterworth–Kulim Expressway (expressway 15) towards Kulim and Gerik in Kedah, expressway 17 and route 1 in Perai (this is where the other end of E17 is located) as well as the Penang Bridge (expressway 36) towards the island and capital. Here the expressway bends southeast away from the coast, going towards and interchanging at the Perai Industrial Area and Juru. After Juru, the road narrows back to four lanes, followed by the Juru Toll Plaza, where the second ticket system begins. The expressway then enters Seberang Perai Selatan. The expressway interchanges with route 149 at Bukit Tambun, connecting several industrial areas nearby. Close by at Batu Kawan, the Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge (expressway 28) terminates on this expressway, connecting Bandar Cassia as well as the southwest district on the island. The last interchange in Penang is with route 1 at Jawi. The expressway then briefly re-enters the state of Kedah to interchange at Bandar Baharu, serving itself, Parit Buntar just across the border at Perak, as well as the rest of southernmost Kedah. At this point route 1 deviates northwards to go around a hill that is part of the Tenasserim Hills cluster. The expressway proceeds towards the hill, going across the Perak River below the Sultan Azlan Shah Bridge. After the river the expressway goes uphill, through the Menora Tunnel that is about long, then downhill into the Kinta Valley. Here, the Ipoh local-express system, constructed in 2008, begins, where all traffic bound for Ipoh or its vicinity is segregated. Southbound commuters entering the local lanes pay the toll/tap out of the ticket system at the Ipoh North Toll Plaza, while northbound motorists merging in from the local lanes collect the ticket/tap into the system. Proceeding southeast through the heart of Ipoh, the expressway's local lanes interchange with several local roads as well as route 1, which begins to run parallel to the expressway again. The system ends to the south of Tambun, where commuters on the southbound local lanes collect their tickets or tap into the system at the Ipoh South Toll Plaza, while northbound motorists entering the local lanes pay their tolls. While going southeast, the expressway crosses the Selangor River into the state of Selangor. Despite this, the next interchange, the final one with route 1, mainly serves Tanjung Malim over in the previous state. From this point, route 1 leaves the vicinity of the expressway as the expressway goes southwards and the federal route goes southeast. The expressway interchanges with several rural roads at Lembah Beringin, Bukit Tagar, the Bukit Beruntung industrial area and at Sungai Buaya. Going southwards, the expressway leaves the Hulu Selangor district into the Gombak district, where it interchanges near the Rawang industrial area with route 3209. Shortly after, the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (expressway 35) begins as an interchange on this expressway. On the last segment, the expressway interchanges with a road next to the Sungai Buloh Hospital, crosses into the Petaling district, interchanges with the Sungai Buloh Highway (route 54) at Sungai Buloh and it also connects to the Sungai Buloh-Kajang Line of the Klang Valley U-Bahn, and finally terminates at its interchange with the New Klang Valley Expressway, which is also designated the route number E1. The longest stretch is also from the Pagoh all the way to Yong Peng. From there it also connects through the mountains of Titiwangsa. History The North–South Expressway was constructed due to the congestion along the Federal Route 1 as a result of the increasing traffic of the FT1. In 1977, the government proposed to build a new north–south divided highway as an alternative to the Federal Route 1, which would be later known as the North–South Expressway E1 and E2. The proposal to build the new highway was mooted as a result of the severe congestion along the Federal Route 1. Because of the large cost of the project, the highway was planned to be privatised and tolled, but none of the constructors being invited by the government were unwilling to do the job due to economic uncertainties at that time and the plan could not be materialised. It was only after Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad became the Prime Minister that the North–South Expressway project was revived. The project was launched in 1981. The Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) was established on 24 October 1980. The MHA was established to supervise and execute the design, construction, regulation, operation and maintenance of inter-urban highways, to impose and collect tolls, to enter into contracts and to provide for matters connected therewith. At that time, all construction works of the expressway between 1982 and 1988 was solely administered by Malaysian Highway Authority before being transferred to Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan Berhad (PLUS) on 13 May 1988. The construction of the expressway was done in stages. As the construction works continued, segments of the highway were opened to traffic as they were finished to help fund the construction works. The Jitra–Bukit Kayu Hitam section was constructed as an upgrade of the existing Federal Route 1 section into a divided highway with partial access control and at-grade intersections. At that time, the construction of the Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway E2 was ongoing, and therefore the expressway would later form the pioneer route for the southern route. The Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway E2, which was opened on 16 June 1982, was the first completed section of the North–South Expressway project and became the first expressway to implement the ticket system (closed toll system), then followed by the Jitra–Bukit Kayu Hitam section in 1985. Unlike the other sections of the North–South Expressway, the Jitra–Bukit Kayu Hitam section did not comply with the expressway standards defined by the Arahan Teknik 8/86: A Guide on Geometric Design of Roads which was only published by the Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR) later in 1986, resulting the section to be grandfathered as a part of the North–South Expressway E1. The third section being opened to motorists was the Seberang Jaya–Perai section. The section was constructed as a part of the Penang Bridge E36 project; hence, the section forms the pioneer route for the Penangite section of the North–South Expressway. The Seberang Jaya–Perai section, together with the Penang Bridge E36, was opened on 14 September 1985. Meanwhile, the 27.3-km Skudai Highway FT1 was constructed in Johor Bahru as another upgrade of the Federal Route 1 in the south. The toll road had two toll plazas at Senai and at the Johor Causeway. It was constructed by the Malaysian Public Works Department (JKR) before being handed over to Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) in November 1985. The extensive urbanisation of Johor Bahru however had rendered the Skudai Highway FT1 to be unsuitable to become a part of the North–South Expressway E2, as the Skudai Highway FT1 is not a controlled-access highway. Nevertheless, the toll road and the North–South Expressway were acquired by Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan Berhad (PLUS). However, various parties especially residents of Senai and political parties urged that the toll collection be abolished due to the lack of toll-free alternative. As a result, the toll collection at Senai Toll Plaza was abolished on 1 March 2004. After the toll collection at Senai was abolished, the highway had been maintained by the Malaysian Public Works Department. The Johor Causeway Toll Plaza remained in operation until 2008, when the former Johor Bahru CIQ Complex was closed and replaced by the Sultan Iskandar CIQ Complex, and the access to the new CIQ complex and the Johor–Singapore Causeway is provided by the Johor Bahru Eastern Dispersal Link Expressway. The next completed sections were the Ipoh–Changkat Jering and Senawang–Ayer Keroh sections in 1987. The Senawang–Ayer Keroh section was built as an extension of the Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway. The toll collection of the Kuala Lumpur–Seremban Expressway was from Sungai Besi to Labu. As a result of the completion of the Senawang–Ayer Keroh section, the old Labu Toll Plaza was demolished and was replaced by three toll plaza interchanges at Exit 218 Seremban Interchange, Exit 219 Port Dickson Interchange and Exit 220 Senawang Interchange; the Senawang Interchange was constructed by rerouting the through traffic to Ayer Keroh and southwards. During the initial phases, the North–South Expressway project was criticized for its sluggish progress pace. As of 1986, only about 350 km (or two-third of the entire length) of the expressway was completed. The work progress became worse due to the nationwide economic setback caused by the falling prices of commodities like rubber and tin. As a result, the government had to revise its initial policy of having the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) to execute the entire construction job and decided to have the expressway project to be privatised, citing the success of the privatisation of the North Klang Straits Bypass FT20 in 1985 by Shapadu A letter of intention was sent to United Engineers (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. (now UEM Group) on 29 December 1986 before being finalised in 1988. The privatisation agreement had led to the formation of Highway Concessionaires Berhad which would later become Projek Lebuhraya Utara-Selatan Berhad (PLUS). PLUS took over the construction, operation and maintenance jobs of the North–South Expressway from LLM starting from March 1998, together with the Skudai Highway FT1. After the North–South Expressway project was privatised in 1988, the construction work progress continued at a faster pace. The first section completed by PLUS was the Ayer Keroh–Pagoh section on 5 April 1989. Meanwhile, the 31-km New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) E1 was opened on 11 January 1993, connecting major cities in the Klang Valley with the North–South Expressway northern route. The remaining sections were opened gradually until the entire expressway was fully completed in 1994. The expressway was officially opened on September 8, 1994 by Malaysian prime minister at that time, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad. After the North–South Expressway was completed in 1994, the expressway took the role of the Federal Route 1 as the main backbone route in Peninsular Malaysia. Speed Limits North–South Expressway is designed as a free speed expressway therefore the advisory speed limit similar to Autobahn (some stretches are speed restricted to the 110km/h, 120km/h and 130km/h) on the expressway is 110 km/h (70 mph), it is also the lowest death rate. Although there is advisory speed limit; many drivers have no general limit. Many of them uses the expressway for driving at very high speed eventually. There are some exceptions in some places for several reasons, including: *60 km/h when approaching any toll plaza. *70 km/h for the local lanes and 90 km/h for the express lane, mainly to control the traffic flow of the non-stop main carriageways and the toll-free local-express lanes. *80 km/h for the Bukit Lanjan Interchange *80 km/h for the Kuala Kangsar - Jelapang stretch, where it goes uphill, tunnel and downhill. *90 km/h for the Bukit Kayu Hitam - Jitra due to the presence of at-grade junctions. *90 km/h for the Sungai Dua - Juru stretch, due to the heavy urban traffic. *90 km/h for the Gopeng - Tapah stretch, passing Gua Tempurung. *90 km/h for the Bukit Lanjan - Jalan Duta where it goes uphill and downhill. *90 km/h for the Sungai Besi - Bangi, due to the heavy urban traffic. *110 km/h for the northern parts of highway: Jitra - Alor Star, Juru - Bukit Tambun and Sungai Buloh - Bukit Lanjan. *110 km/h for the southern parts of highway: Ayer Keroh - Bukit Gambir, Ayer Hitam - Yong Peng and Second Link Expressway. *120 km/h for the Sungei Buloh - Tanjung Malim stretch. *130 km/h for the Ipoh South - Simpang Pulai stretch, Nilai North - Bangi stretch and Seremban-Port Dickson Highway. Generally those with police roadblocks and open tolling are speed restricted to 110 km/h. However some of the expressway stretches are 120 km/h and 130 km/h. Tolls Most of the expressway maintains a ticket system (closed system) of tolling. The expressway however also has two toll plazas using the barrier toll system (open system) at the Bukit Kayu Hitam checkpoint and at Jitra. The ticket system from Juru southwards uses an integrated system of tolling that also applies to the New Klang Valley Expressway, North–South Expressway Central Link and North–South Expressway Southern Route (e.g. it is possible to travel from Juru on this expressway to Skudai, Johor on the North–South Expressway Southern Route without leaving the toll system). A separate ticket system is in place between Hutan Kampung and Sungai Dua, due to the toll-free section in Penang. Motorists are required to "TAMBAH" before you go in to the expressway, for those using Touch n' Go cards, and to have minimum RM20 value. Emergency Assistance Orange emergency telephones/callboxes are located every two kilometres along the entire expressway, as with every other expressway in the PLUS expressway network. Alternatively, commuters may dial the toll-free number 1 800 88 0000 on their mobile phones. Both will connect to the PLUS traffic monitoring centre in Subang where commuters may request for traffic information or roadside assistance. The highway patrol and roadside assistance teams are known as PLUSRonda. They provide free first responder services including small fixes for broken down vehicles, towing and also act as traffic police when there is an incident. They are also given auxiliary police powers. PLUS also provides traffic information to commuters through variable-message signs located on some sections of the expressway, and on Twitter @plustrafik in Malay. Major radio stations in Peninsular Malaysia also broadcast traffic updates for the expressway. Rest Points The North–South Expressway has 21 full rest areas (which includes two overhead bridge restaurant), 38 laybys and 2 vista points (scenic area) total along both directions of the expressway. Every rest area and layby includes, as a bare minimum, car parks and public toilets. Most laybys also include public telephones and a small rest hut. Depending on location, laybys can also include petrol stations, a surau, and rarely, food courts, independently operated restaurants as well as automated teller machines. Full rest and service areas have all of the above services and are much larger, so they can accommodate more services. Several rest areas also have small inns, and most have complimentary Wi-Fi services. Vista points only have car parks and is meant for commuters to enjoy the scenery at that location. Laybys are found every 25 to 50 kilometres, while full rest areas are found every 80 to 100 kilometres. The only vista point on this expressway is in Ipoh and Pedas-Linggi. Upgrading Works Six-lane widening works Plans to upgrade the stretches from Slim River to Tanjung Malim, Tanjung Malim to Rawang (Northern route), Seremban to Senawang, and Senawang to Ayer Keroh (Southern route) was approved by the government for better traffic flow. It was completed in 2007. Kuala Lumpur-Penang Through Traffic (Ipoh North (Jelapang) – Ipoh South) The Jelapang and Ipoh South toll plazas were demolished in 2009 to make a non-stop route across Ipoh. This is achieved through the construction of two local-express lanes for each side, which are only accessible via Exit 138 Ipoh South Exit (for northbound traffic) and Exit 141 Ipoh North Exit (for southbound traffic). The toll plazas in Ipoh are therefore relocated at each ends of the local-express lanes. The decision to demolish both toll plazas was made as a result of accidents which happened at Jelapang toll plaza. Since the toll plaza was opened on 28 September 1987, there were many accident cases which involved brake failure in heavy vehicles due to hard braking when proceeding downhill to the toll plaza. On 7 June 2008, the new Ipoh North toll plaza (South bound) replacing old Jelapang toll plaza opened to traffic, followed by north bound on 15 August 2008. Beginning 11:00 am on 14 July 2009, the Kuala Lumpur-Penang through traffic is now opened to traffic. With the opening of the between Ipoh North (Jelapang) and Ipoh South stretch, highway users are no longer required to stop for toll transactions at the Ipoh North and Ipoh South Toll Plazas. Fourth lane additions On July 2010, the operator PLUS Expressways Berhad announced that the government has awarded contracts to build a fourth lane on certain stretches of the highway, namely from Shah Alam to Jalan Duta, from Shah Alam to Rawang and from Nilai (North) to Port Dickson. On October 2012, the upgrading works for this project began.